Baby Names 2012: The third quarterly report of Nameberry newbies

The time has rolled around again when I get to do one of my favorite things—browse through the Birth Announcement Forum and get to see a snapshot of the gorgeous names Berries have chosen over these past three months–the latest installment of Baby Names 2012. Because each quarter they seem to be more and more impressive and inventive, and this one is no exception, with many great first and middle combos and interesting sibsets as well.

It’s just so gratifying to see the final results of all the Nameberry advice and discussion—ours and especially the wise, measured opinions of fellow Berries — a fantastic mix of the classic and the creative, from Elizabeth to Arrow for a girl, Jack and John to Calder and Cato for boys. Not to mention a veritable botanical garden of flower and tree names—Primrose, Tulip, Rose, Iris, Violet, Lilac, Jacinda, Maple and Olive, as well as a Flora, a Blossom and a Bloom.

This time we have not only five pairs of twins, but also two sets of triplets—take a look at how their parents succeeded in meeting the challenge of choosing and balancing those multiple names. And speaking of multiples, we have a few of our own—two each of Cordelia, Louisa, Philippa, Willa and Theodore.

So catch up on the babyberry choices—and don’t forget to keep adding your arrivals to the Baby Announcement Forum.

Mego0801 Says:

I’m a little disheartened to see the wonderful Posy claimed as a nickname again instead of a fabulous first name! I’m still on the campaign to have it recognized more widely as a completely legitimate first name and not just a nickname!!

A fair bit of these are fantastic names, I only wish the naming parents loved nearby so I could meet some of these kiddos! (Tobin!
Amity! [is someone a Divergent fan? Lol] Story! Winter! Iris!! <3)

Just as many of them are nms, but I am picky and I know it, and those names that aren't my style are still wonderful. I love seeing the diversity, I hope it spills over into the non berry crowd!

Thanks so much for compiling this post!

cilla Says:

Miette and Ruby are my twins:
@Danni Priscilla is my name and Jessica is my middle name. The floral middles are to give them a connection even with there different first names. Miette was just a favourite and my husband really wanted a Mia to me it just sounds too nicknamey.

Betsy Buttercup Says:

Mei_Mei, I don’t know about half being fake. I’d put it more like at one in five or one in six, with the likelihood of fakeness being significantly higher in birth announcements for multiples (maybe like one in three in those cases). I’m not calling anyone out, but there was one either twin or triplet announcement with very fanciful names where I was like, “is this for real?” so I went back and looked at the girl’s old posts and she definitely contradicted her story on herself and her family makeup multiple times. I’ve also seen people called out in the birth announcements for announcing the births of two separate sets of multiples a few months apart. So it’s not wrong to be skeptical!

shanbrownie Says:

Blade Says:

Ive been lurking on nameberry for years. I think it usually starts innocuously enough– people interested in names naturally fantasize about the babies who will have them, and to be honest it’s much much easier to get attention when you claim you’re naming an actual child rather than just playing with combos or adding to your name list. So people claim a fake pregnancy and naming becomes a competitive sport.

There are a few ways to spot the fakes. Firstly, the incidence of multiples is WAY higher here than in the actual population. If people post birth announcements about multiples, esp. higher-order multiples like triplets, and there’s no mention of any NICU stay or other health issues, they’re usually fake. Secondly, family size: it’s the rare family nowadays that has more than three children. Four is uncommon, but five and up is really rare. If the naming style across multiple children (which should represent at least a decade of one’s life) remains cursively fixed– especially if the naming style is exactly the names that are frequently discussed on nameberry today, but never would have been 10-12 years ago, that’s a fake. Thirdly, in the US it is genuinely uncommon to have three given names. In the UK it happens more, but it’s considered very posh and a bit snobby. The incidence of 3+ given names is again much higher here, which can be partially explained by the fact that it’s a naming website and people will naturally have a great attachment to certain names. Lastly– in reality, children aren’t named in a vacuum. In reality, children receive family names, baby’s dad has a strong say, etc. in reality, a three-barreled given name where all choices are literary and ornate and nameberry darlings is a rare bird indeed.

That’s why naming threads where there’s literally no mention of due dates, or baby’s dad and his thoughts, or the necessity of including certain names that one doesn’t necessarily like to placate family, etc– those threads are usually the fakers.

LyndsayJenness Says:

Nice summary Blade! My American boys have 2 middle names, and I was completely inspired by nameberry and the Telegraph birth announcements to do that, I bet I’m not the only one, so I’d guess nameberry has higher rates of two middle names than normal.

This is a gorgeous list of names, good job everybody! Not going to list my favorites because all of them are amazing! Some of the girls names make me so jealous! My favorite is Flynn William Warfield, brother to Dash, because they’re mine 😉

hvnlydevil Says:

Mei_Mei Says:

Thank you, Linda, I appreciate the response. Any forum is going to have fakers, especially name forums! Comes with the territory. I just think it’s important that there be stated rules against it, with consequences If you are caught out (banned from forum). I guess I feel that environment of trust is desirable, so it’s nice to know that the issue of fakery/trolls is taken seriously, not ignored, brushed over or even rewarded.

Meriyah2 Says:

Story Elise is real!! I’m fighting my exhaustion at this very moment waiting for her to wake up so I can nurse her.

On a positive note this list is amazing! It’s because of Nameberry and its fresh thinking followers that my husband and I put all our fears aside and named our daughter the name that fit her best! Keep up the good work Berries!!

mariahsweet Says:

cilla Says:

Mom2CessaNSy Says:

I always look forward to these lists too, and not just because my son Josias Alasdair Emmanuel is on here this go round. (And he is definitely real with the colic to prove it *sigh*). Real or not, I enjoy perusing a good list of names so I do appreciate these. We chose 2 middle names for our son so that our older daughter (who’s nearly 7) could select one middle name all herself–she chose Emmanuel. The full story is listed in the Birth Announcement section. Also, being a nameophile and this being our last child (and, well, being a closet Times/Telegraph reader and BBC-watcher), the 3-name-thing seemed to fit a lot of criteria for us. I agree with what the poster above (Blade) writes for identifying fake birth announcements; it was very well thought out and well written. Congrats to all on their new little ones (or at the very least on some lovely names whether bestowed or not).

BerryBry Says:

Oooooh!!! Flora Beatriz Pearl!! I love it!!! I might have to write a story about it!! Yes! And her siblings will be Andrea Desiree May and Joseph Axel Paul!! Ooooooh! This list is amazing!! I particularly love how matched sibsets and middle names are!